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Recipes for your Memorial Day picnic

The bacon cheeseburger has made it to the top of the preferred list by Americans in a report taken by Schweid and Sons, and no one can doubt its tastiness. With that preferred burger are lettuce, tomato, ketchup and a pickle on the side. Many will be doing a barbecue on Memorial Day, and you can bet burgers will be on the list. — Esther McCoy

What could be more American than a grilled burger at a cookout for Memorial Day? Just in time for the big outdoor eating day is a report from Schweid and Sons on its annual Burger Report.

It seems that the bacon cheeseburger has made it to the top of the list for the second year in a row.

Here is a breakdown on how people like their burgers:

The most popular ingredients to build a burger are the brioche bun, American cheese, lettuce and tomato, bacon and ketchup on an 8-ounce Angus chuck burger.

Upward trending ingredients for the popular sandwich are: Pretzel buns, moving up at a fast pace; blue cheese; red onion and onion rings; pulled pork and fried egg; and yellow mustard on a 6-ounce pork brisket.

Downward trending ingredients for burgers are: Kaiser roll, Jack cheese, white onion and jalapeno, chili, aioli sauce on a 7-ounce Angus sirloin.

Hamburger first appeared in the 19th or early 20th century and was a product of culinary needs and the demand for mass-produced affordable food consumed outside the home.

Americans contend they are the first to combine two slices of bread and a steak or ground beef to make a hamburger sandwich. The two basic ingredients, bread and beef, were prepared and consumed separately, however, for many years before their combination. Shortly after the creation, the hamburger was prepared with all of the characteristic trimmings, including onions, lettuce and pickles. Along with fried chicken and apple pie, the hamburger has become a culinary icon in the United States.

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This is a recipe picked up from computer recipes. It called for preparing it in the kitchen, but it can just as easily be made on the grill. The onions are simmered in beer, any kind desired, and placed on top of the browned hamburger, with Swiss cheese.

Beer-Braised Onion Burger

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 cups thickly sliced sweet onion

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup beer

1 1/4 pounds ground round, 85-percent lean

2 tablespoons La Choy Lite Soy Sauce

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

4 slices Swiss cheese

8 teaspoons spicy, brown mustard

4 hamburger buns, toasted

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and salt. Cook 5 minutes. Add beer. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove lid and simmer 5 more minutes. Combine beef, soy sauce and pepper in medium bowl. Shape into 4 patties. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties 5 minutes on each side until 160 degrees internal temperature. Top with cheese and spread mustard on bottom half of each toasted bun. Top with hamburger patty and 1/4 cup onion mixture. Then top with remaining bun.

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If a bacon cheeseburger is the tops in the hamburger field, a pizza made with bacon, ketchup, mustard, pickles and cheese should be a favorite also.

Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza

1/2 pound ground beef, 85 percent lean

Pre-baked 12-inch store-bought pizza crust

1 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 cup tomato ketchup

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 cup shredded cheese

1/3 cup small dill pickle slices

6 slices fully cooked bacon, chopped

Preheat gas grill for medium heat. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook 5-7 minutes or until crumbly and no longer pink. Drain off fat. Brush bottom and top edge of crust with the canola oil. Stir together ketchup and mustard and spread evenly over top of crust. Top with cooked beef. Sprinkle with cheese, pickles and crisp bacon. Grill 5 to 7 minutes or until crust is crisp and cheese melts. Rotate pizza if needed for even heating. Cut into six slices. This is 390 calories per one-sixth of a pizza.

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Side dishes are always needed to go with those burgers after attending Memorial Day services to pay tribute to all who have served before and are now serving and giving their lives for peace. Try this unusual grilled watermelon salad.

Grilled Watermelon, Tomato and Feta Salad

Pam spray

14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped fine

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

1-inch thick slice watermelon with rind left intact

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Spray cold grate of the gas grill with Pam. Preheat for high heat. Combine diced tomatoes, basil, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in medium bowl. Grill watermelon slice 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until grill marks develop. Cool slightly. Remove rind, dice to make 2 cups and add the rest of the ingredients, gently stirring. Sprinkle with cheese. This is 125 calories for each of four servings.

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Potato salad is always a must for a cookout. This one is a grilled product and makes 16 servings, enough for a crowd.

Grilled Potato Salad with Mustard Dressing

3 pounds baby Yukon gold potatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 sweet onion, thickly sliced

6 slices bacon

1/4 cup roughly cut fresh dill weed

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/2 mayonnaise

1/4 cup spicy brown mustard

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

Preheat grill to high. Add potatoes to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for 8 minutes or until just al dente. Strain and add to a bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil and grill to slightly char and it is finished cooking the potatoes. Cook onion slices with remaining oil and add to the grill and roast. Once potatoes are slightly charred and cooked thoroughly, remove from grill along with onions and chill. Grill bacon until crispy. The bacon will cause a lot of flames so constantly turn and move slices. Remove and chop. In a large bowl, whisk mayonnaise, mustard and apple cider vinegar until combined. Add potatoes, onions, bacon, green onions and seasonings. Toss and chill. Each serving is 156 calories.

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A great dessert is needed to complete the cookout. This pie that derives its name from the English city of Chester is where custard pies were first popular. They are believed to date to the early English colonists who first introduced custard pies in New England and Virginia. From there it took across the South. Traditionally, the custard was made with sugar, eggs and butter, plus a little cornmeal and flour for texture. The history of the pie and recipe is from the Woman’s Day magazine. Suzie Crawford makes a great chess pie, too. I don’t think she uses this recipe though.

Lemon Coconut Chess Pie

1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour, plus more for the surface

1 refrigerated rolled pie crust

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, plus more for serving

5 large eggs

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, from 2 lemons

1 tablespoon fine yellow cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup coconut milk well shaken and divided

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Toasted coconut for serving

Heat oven to 375 and place a baking sheet on a rack set in the lower third of the oven. Unroll the pie crust and fit into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Crimp the edges as desired. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and zest in a large bowl until pale and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, lemon juice, cornmeal, salt and 1/4 cup coconut milk and beat to combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pie crust. Cover lightly with foil, transfer to the preheated baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until still slightly wobbly in the center, 15 to 20 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cook about 20 minutes. Once completely cool, make the topping. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream, confectioners’ sugar and remaining 1/4 cup coconut milk until medium peaks form. Spoon into the center of the pie. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. This makes a 10-serving pie with 435 calories per slice. Rather high in calories but it is a holiday — diet on May 30.

(McCoy can be contacted at emccoy@heraldstaronline.com.)

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